When I started The Orange Rhino Challenge in 2012, I felt excited to change yet equally (more so?) ashamed that I had to change. As such, even though I very much wanted to share about my Challenge and knew that I needed to in order to get the support I knew I needed to succeed, I still hesitated to tell people. I would get the courage to tell someone or to post a new blog entry and then BAM! I would feel a pit in my stomach. Fear would take over and either my mouth or fingers would pause as my brain started freaking out! What would be said when I shared that I promised my boys that I would go 365 days straight without yelling at them? Would I be ridiculed? Laughed at? Questioned? Lectured? Or, what would be said when I wrote about a personal experience with yelling, would my capability as a mother be examined? Would I be insulted? Humiliated even more?
But after sharing about my Challenge a handful of times, I quickly realized that my fears were unfounded. Thankfully, the judgment never really came! Sure I received an occasional questioning eye and a fake encouraging response, but for the most part, I received nothing short of positive, enthusiastic, and genuine support. This gave me the confidence to more readily share my “dark secret” and about my journey. As a result, I created an even larger group of people supporting me, keeping me accountable, and ultimately helping me to succeed as an Orange Rhino who went 520 days straight without yelling!
Could I have succeeded without having to share my “dark secret” and without having to risk feeling more ashamed than I already did? Sure. We can all do things alone. But as Betty Ford so perfectly put, and as I so wonderfully experienced, “You can make it, but it’s easier if you don’t have to do it alone.” 
I want your journey to “Yell Less, Love More” to be easier for you too! I want you to succeed on your own Orange Rhino Challenge so that you yell less at yourself for being a bad parent, but instead experience what I have: enjoying my life more and finally feeling better about myself as a person and as a parent. Now, I obviously can’t make your journey easier by magically making all of your triggers go away and magically making your kids listen to you the first time, but I can make it easier by guaranteeing you a loving, understanding, non-judgmental, “hands-on-I-tried-this-and-it-worked-give-it-a-try” support! Enter the “Yell Less, Love More 30-Day Challenge Book Club!” Starting January 12th, I will lead a private, online virtual book club via The Orange Rhino Challenge community (www.TheOrangeRhino.com/community). I have chosen this format because the community boards make it easy for you to:
- Connect and communicate with others
- Track your past entires
- Go back to days that really inspired you – or that you want to participate in
- Search for specific topics related to yelling (think online yelling encyclopedia)
- Privately post questions and receive nonjudgmental advice and loving support
Every day in the “Yell Less, Love More Book Club” you will enjoy the above benefits and:
- Read posts by others that make you feel less alone and more hopeful
- Find other Orange Rhinos that share the same yelling challenges as you, giving you more personalized information/stories to help you on your journey
- Build the necessary support network to succeed at learning to yell less – a support network that will continue after the Challenge is over
- And much more I am sure!
Every day in the “Yell Less, Love More Book Club” I will:
- Share additional thoughts to support that day’s theme
- Encourage connection (which really will help you succeed and not quit!) by posting discussion points
- Respond to as many of you as I can, either on the board or privately via email
- Post bonus inspirational quotes (time pending!)
How can you join? As all book clubs go, I will lead the days’ discussions based on the content in the book. So, understandably, you need the book to participate! My sincere hope is that the combination of the book content and the enhanced support and conversation on the community will truly help make your journey to “Yell Less, Love More” both easier and enjoyable! Ready to start your journey?
- Email me your proof of purchase (pre-order or regular order, picture of book, receipt, online confirmation) at YellLessLoveMore@gmail.com. If you remember, title the email Book Club so I can easily find it! If you don’t have the book yet, you can order it at any site listed here: www.TheOrangeRhino.com/the-book
- E-BOOKS count!!
- I will reply with a temporary code for you to use to login into the Private Community (it might take a day or two!) You will then create your own password and change your login name if you wish. Every day, at least once, I will add a new post to the Community. Check in throughout the day for my posts as well as comments from others!
- The club will officially start January 12th and end on….February 14th, Valentine’s Day, the day of love! Yes, this was totally planned! To allow people to catch up throughout the challenge, but also keep people focused, I will not post every day.
- IF you did the last Book Club, then you do not need to send proof of purchase, just an email so that I can add you to the new forum (you will still have access to the old ones.)
- You can start reading the book now if you want – or wait to read with us so you are at the same spot as others. If it were me, I would read the Introduction and then just flip through the rest to get a feel for the layout of the book and some of the questions.
I am really excited to do another online 30-Day Challenge as the past ones and the last book club brought people together, spread hope, and created change. Get ready to “Yell Less, Love More!” Note: If you have already participated in one of my 30-Day Challenges, this will be different as the content and approach in the book are different. And well, now I actually have a real book where you can easily keep track of actions, take notes, and get printouts without having to print them out!
Hello, will you be doing another 30 day book club?